It is known in the art that semiconductor materials may be treated by thermal annealing in order to diffuse and to electrically activate impurity ions, and to fabricate electrical contacts. This method requires a relatively lengthy treatment period, measured in hours, and results in high temperatures, on the order o:f 827 degrees Centigrade, which leads to the formation of structural defects and to redistribution of impurity ions.
It is also known in the art that semiconductor wafers may be treated using pulsed, coherent electromagnetic laser radiation. This method is often inadequate because it is difficult to provide uniform annealing of large surface areas using pulsed electromagnetic radiation; it results in the formation of undesirable structural defects; and it produces a relatively low yield. Furthermore, the penetration depth of the electromagnetic radiation into the semiconductor material being treated leads to significant temperature gradients across the semiconductor material, causing cracking or fracturing of the material.
One additional method known in the art of treating semiconductor materials is for the thermal annealing of semiconductor materials in an electromagnetic field of microwave radiation having a wavelength on the order of centimeters. This method provides a more uniform volumetric heating of the semiconductor materials. However, in order to redistribute impurities within the semiconductor materials in order to obtain diffusion or electrical activation due to heating the material, this process requires heating to temperatures on the order of 800 degrees Centigrade. In the majority of applications, such a process is impractical and results in the dissociation of the semiconductor material. Additionally, such high temperatures cause a decrease in the sharpness of the impurity distribution front.